Hoisting mechanism and control therefor



May 1, 1928. 1,667,931

J. a. FORSTER HOISTING MECHANISM AND CONTROL THEREFOR Filed Julyz, 1925 2 Sheets-$heet 1 Egg 9 4 n. a 7, 1'1 l L I Z /a v E iEJF-k May 1. 1928. 1,667,931

v J. a. FORSTER HOISTING MECHANISM AND CONTROL THEREFOR Filed Ju1y2. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4E 5 I .E. 5

if I g: 2 A 10 Patented May 1, 1928. a i i -6673.31

men smear mew-EB, QE H QA O INQ s as en e r QGLE .Q NSTJ WWIQN or CHICAGO, L O S a QOBWMT Q N' urals;

I 1QITING MECHANISM AND $3.91. TEEREFQB.

hpp lication filed July 2, 1925. Serial No. 41,057.

This invention relates to a hoisting mechahouse 3 is situated between them and a pair ,nisin and a 1 control therefor and conte1i1- of parallel railroad tracks' l are shown adjaplates the use of two spaced hoisting towers, cent the towers for unloading ashes and on! for handling coal, andthe other for loading'coal. Each tower supports a drum 5 handling ashesfthe buckets of which are or pulley oat its upper end over which cables 6o alternately raised and lowered'by the opera- 6 and :7 are respectively trained. One end tion of}; single or coaxial drums and which ot'the cable-6 depends in the tower 2 and areba lahcedagainst each other, in connecsupp rts'an ashbucket 8 (Figure 5). From tion with an electric coiitrol 'sys-temwhich is a the drum 5, the other cable 6 depends along not' susceptible 'of being put ingoperation the tower andis trained under 'a guide roll 65 from the ash tower unless the coal loading 8 From the guide roll 9, the cable'6 ex-- ghee anishm in' the coal tower is disabled, tends'into-thepower house 3 and is attached which is automatically disabled when t 'a-n operating drum 10."

thepo al'bucket reaches thetop of its tower. One end of the cable 7 depends in the coal The invention comprises the novel structow er 1 and supports a coalbucket 11. I The 7 tureand combinations hereinafter described other end of the cable 7 is brought down and more particularly pointed out and defrom the drum 5 and under a guide roll 9 fined in the appended claims. and attached to a drum'12 coaxially attached In the accompanying drawings, which il- "with the drum 10, but of larger diameter lustrat a preferred form of this invention for a purpose that will later appear; The and in which siiifilar reference numerals eoaxial"cl'1-un1s 10 and 12 are suitably geared 'ielfer to similar features in the different to a motor 13 in the power house. It'will viewsz V be noted that both cables 6 and 7 extend Figure l isa top plan view of a coal over the tops of their respective drums.

, handling tower and an ash handling tower Consequently, when the drums rotate, one 30 with a power house shownlinsection therecable willbe wound up and the other will he twee rhf and a pair of,railroad tracks; unwind, and one bucket will be lowered ig l i reflisa Side elevatlo nal View of the while the other Wlll 'be raised. Conset ovversjand power house; quently, one bucket will counterbalance the F gure djis an enlarged and broken part other." If it is desired that one bucket shall elevational and partsectional View ofthe itravel em'pty, it'may be filled with a suitable hoisting tower; 1 weight forcouiiterbalancing purposes.

' Figure {is a diagrammatic View of a D. Iirreferrihg to Figure 5, which is a view vC.electrical control system used in connec- ,takentransversely oithe track and which 35 tion with the apparatus; nurse-meals ash towerg'it will be n'oted'that Figure 5 is a part elevational and part r I the engine is in position to dump its ashes sectional transverse view of the ash hoist into the ash pit." When the ashes are illustrating its use in 9 1 6951 Wi dumpedinto the pit, the ash bucket will, of ;road system; courseybeat the bottom of the pit to receive Figure 6 is a part elevational arid part the ashes. The filled b'ucketisthen elevated sectional transverse View of the coal hoistaiid'diimped into ahopper "1ft provided with ing tower illustrating its use connection a chu te lb for conveying the ashes to an Wifl erail ad; ej

Eigure 7 isan enlarged elevational vlew F gure 6 is shown the coal hoist r eof the disabling mechanism for the coal ceivingcoa'l from a coal car 16, which dis- I00 lggde v i i. r

r charges the same into the coal hopper 17. Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view of an The coal bucket 11 in this tower-in descend- ,(lcontrol system which may be used'instead ing strikes a bar 18 (Figure 3)' wh1ch 1s ofthe D. C. system, and connectedby a link 19 with a. lever 20.

Figure 9 is a part elevational and part' bar 18 is held in suitable guide l 8 and a sectional view of a coalhoisting tower as it descends, the lever 20 serves to lower equipped with'a coalstoragebin. "ap'rdn 21 of coal chute 22 leading Referring to liigures"1 and 2 of the drawrom ho pper 17, wher eby the coal 'i n the ings, there isshown a coal hoisting tower 1 chute "22 will tell 1n 'the bucket. Dur ng and an ash hoisting tower 2. A power this operation tl e hopper s' shut otffrom the coal chute 22, since the downward movement of the apron 19 will rotate a valve mechanism for closing the port 23 between the hopper 17 and chute 22. It will be noted that the coal apron 21 extends over the bucket when the latter is in the bottom of the coal loading pit. Consequently, when the bucket is raised, it will lift the apron 21 toward closing position. A counter weight connected to the lever 20 will complete the closing movements of the apron. While the apron is being swung to closed position, the valve of port 23 is being opened. This loader mechanism does not constitute a part o'i this invention except in so far as it cooperates therewith, since it is but a slightly modified form of the loader mechanism shown in the Ogle Patent, No. 1,112,084. it merely difl'ers from the mechanism of the patent in a different mannor of closing the apron and elevating the bar 18, and in pivotally mounting the guide bar 18 upon a pivot 24, as shown in igures 3 and 7.

By pivoting the guide bar 18 at its lower end, it may be swung to shift the loader bar 18 out of the path of the descending bucket. For this purpose, a pair of toggle links 25 are pivoted together at their inner ends. The outer end of one link is connected to the pivoted guide '18 while the outer end of the other link is pivoted to a stationary post 26. A link 27 is connected to the joint of the toggle links 25 and extends to a suitable point in the tower 1. The upper end of the link 27 is connected to a lever 28 which is pivoted intermediate its ends to the tower. A link 29 (Figure 3) suspends from the lever 28 and controls the movable element 30 of a protective switch in the control circuit, which will be later described. It should merely be understood at the present time that when the lever 28 is manually swung upwardly by the operator, the toggle links 25 will flex downwardly, as shown in Figure ('3, whereby the guide 18 is swung upon its pivot to remove the loader bar 18 from the path of the descending bucket for disabling the loader mechanism. When the lever 28 is thuswise elevated, the switch member 30 will be moved to closed position.

he purpose of disabling the coal loading mechanism is to prevent coal from being hoisted when ashes are being handled in the ash tower and there is no car present to receive the coal.

As the coal is raised in the bucket, it is dumped into a coal hopper 31 from which the coal is conveyed to the engine by a chute 32. If desirable, the hopper may be enlarged for storing a quantity of coal, and in I having an addition 33 Figure 9 I have illustrated acoaling tower to the hopper 31. Goal may be stored in the hopper, which usually has a valve communicating with the chute 32, when no engine is present for coaling purposes.

When such a storage hopper or bin is used, it is necessary that the coal bucket be raised higher than the ash bucket. For this reason, the drum for the cable on the coal bucket may be made a little larger, as previously explained. After the ash bucket has been raised, and its contents dumped into an ash car, it is usually lowered again into the ash pit. Usually one load of ashes will be all that is required to be hoisted. It is desired to autoniati all) cut out the motor at such time. To accomplish this purpose a counterweiglited limit switch 34 (Figure 3) is positioned in the motor circuit adjacent the upper end oi the tower and when the coal bucket reaches the top of the tower, it actuates the switch 31 and opens the motor circuit.

In Figures t and 8 are shown, in diagrammatic form, control circuits for the connccted ash and coal hoists. The control shown in Figure -l is for a D. C. current, while that in Figure 8 is for an A. C. current. However, the general discription of one will explain the other. ln Figure 1 there is shown a three wire D. C. control system involving a starting circuit and a stop circuit. In rcterring to said figure, it will be noted that there is illustrated a relay and dynamic braking box 35 to which the supply wires 31; and :37 lead from a suitable source of electrical power. The wire 36 connects with a resistance or relay coil 38, the ends of which respectively attract the pivoted switch elements 35) and 40, the former making a connection with the wire 36. The wire 37 is connected to one of the motor feed wires t1. The other motor teed wire is connected to the switch element 39.

The starting circuit comprises a conductor 13 leading from the connection between the wires 37 and 11, to a starting switch 14, a conductor 15 leading from the starting switch ll to the protective switch 30, and a return wire at} leading from the protective. switch 30 to the coil 38 and adapted to be put in electrical connection with the switch 4:0.

The stop circuit comprises a conductor i7 leading from the switch in and extending to the top of the coal tower, where it is connected to the limit switch 234, and a return wire 48 leading from the limit switch 3-1 to a stop switch 49 which is also connected with the conductor 4.3. A number of emergency stop switches 51 may be placed in the conductor 48.

A tumbler switch 51' shunted across the conductors 13, -16 and -17. This switch may be used to cut out the control system.

The starting circuit above described also has a shunt circuit comprising a conductor 52 leading from the wire 46 to a starting the said switch is Switch 44 controls the motor ashes; the closing of the switch 44, howof the switch 30 This shunt circuit cuts out the limit switch 34, so that the motor can be operated when open.

In the operation of the apparatus, it will "be assumed that the ash bucket 8 is at the bottom of the pit ready to be hoisted, with the motor standing still. The starting for hoisting ever, will not start the motor as long as the protective switch 30 is open. The closing will, of course, render inoperative or disable the loader mechanism. After the switch 30 has been closed, the starting switch 44 will be momentarily closed for completing the circuit through the supply wires 36 and 37. The relay coil 38 will e energized for attracting the member 39 and closing the relay switch to the motor. At the same time, the switch member 40 will be attracted for closing the circuit through the limit switch 34. hen the operator releases the starting switch 44, it will, of course, spring to open position.

The operation of the motor will rotate the winding drums for hoisting the ash bucket and lowering the coal bucket. After the ash bucket has been hoisted and dumped, the hoist will reverse and the ash bucket will descend to the bottom of its tower while the coal bucket will ascend. When the coal bucket reaches the top of the tower, the limit switch 34 will be opened for stopping the motor.

When the imotor is stopped, the coal bucket will be up, and the limit switch 34 will be open. Now assuming that it is desired to hoist coal, the lever 28 will be operated to open the protective switch 30 and move the loader bar 18 to operative position. The shunt switch 55 will then be closed, and the starting switch 53 will be momentarily closed for energizing the coil 38 for closing the relay switch 39. The motor will accordingly be started again and its operation will raise the ash bucket and lower the coal bucket, which will now actuate the loader bar 18 for openin the apron 21. The bucket will be coaled, hoisted and dumped into the upper hopper. It may then descend for another load, the hoist be ing mechanically reversed, and one bucket balancing the other as they are alternately raised and lowered. If it is desired to stop the motor at any time, an emergency or stop switch may be actuated.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that novel hoisting mechanism has been produced in which twobuckets in difi'erent towers are alternately raised and lowered, and in which a novel control has been provided which prevents the motor from being started from the ash hoist switch until the coal loading mechanism in the coalhoist has been rendered inoperative.

am aware that many changes may be made, and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon, otherwise than necessitated. by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the COIIlblfiElfiiOH with a pair of oppositely movable buckets, means including a motor for raising and lowering said buckets, a loader mechanism controlled by one bucket, manually operated means for rendering said loader mechanism inoperative, a switch con trolled by the position of said means, and a control for the motor connected to said switch.

2.'In an apparatus of the class described, a coal hoisting tower, a bucket in said tower, a cable attached to said bucket, a loader bar normally in the path of said bucket, an ash hoisting tower, an ash bucket therein, a cable attached to said ash bucket, a drum to which said cables are attached, a motor for op erating said drum, a control for said motor having a switch, and means for simultaneously shifting said loader bar out of the path of said coal bucket and closing said switch.

3. In an apparatusof the class described, a pair of hoisting buckets, a cable attached to each bucket, a common drum to which said cables are attached, a motor for operating said drum, loader mechanism for one bucket including a bar movable with respect to the pat-l1 of such bucket, and trol system for the motor embodying means for preventing the motor from being operated when said loader bar is in the path of said bucket.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, a coal hoisting bucket, an ash hoisting bucket, a drum, cables connecting said buckets with said drum, a motor for rotating said drum, a coal loading mechanism embodying a loader bar, spect to the path of the coal hoisting bucket, a control system for the motor embodying a pair of starting switches,,one switch being effective for starting the motor when the loader bar is out of the path of the coal bucket, and the other switch being effective for starting the motor when the loader bar .is in operative position.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a coal hoisting tower, an ash hoisting tower, a bucket in each tower, coal loading mechanism adapted to be actuated by one bucket, means for disabling said loading mechanism, a drum, cables attaching said buckets an electrical con shiftable with reto said drum, a motor for operating said drum, an electrical control system for the motor including a pair of starting switches, one switch being effective for starting the motor only when the loading mechanism is disabled.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a pair of spaced towers, a bucket in each tower, at common driving means fol-simultaneously raising one bucket and lowering the other, said driving means including a motor, a control system for the motor embodying a limit switch in one tower actuated by the bucket therein, for stopping the motor, said system embodying means for starting the motor when said limit switch is open.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, a pair f oppositely moving hoisting buckets, a drum to which said buckets are connected, a loader mechanism for one bucket, means for disabling said loader mechanism, a motor for rotating; said drum, and an electrical control system for the motor including a switch controlled by said disabling means.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, a pair of spaced hoisting towers, a bucket in each tower, a common drum to which said buckets are connected, means for driving said drum, a movable loader mechanism for one bucket, and means controlled by said loader mechanism for controlling said driving means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JOHN GEORGE FORSTER. 

